The World Cup so far has been exciting, entertaining and even shocking at times. The fans have been thoroughly entertained and the amount of interest the tournament has generated all over the world, is impressive.
Genius tactics, rise of the underdogs, fall of the big guns and some brilliant individual performances from some of the lesser known player, the fans have seen it all. While the tournament has been a treat for all football fans so far and with a lot more still to come, there surely have been a few upsets and moments that may have caused a few heartbreaks.
Group Stage Exits
Spain, Italy, Portugal and England came into the World Cup with a lot of hope and desire to have a successful campaign. However, their hopes were cruelly shattered as the big guns failed to clear the group and instead made the path clear for teams like Costa Rica, Uruguay, Chile and USA. The four European teams may not have been the favourites to emerge as champions but were certainly tipped to challenge their counterparts in the knockout stages. Their shocking group stage exit robbed many fans of watching their favourites players lighten up the stage beyond the 3 group stage matches.
Luis Suarez Bite
After shining at the club level for Liverpool, Suarez was poised to gain global recognition and add to his fan following by performing for Uruguay at the World Cup. The forward had a good start as he beat the odds and overcame his injury troubles to play against England. The Liverpool-striker scored 2 superb goals against England and seemed to be on his way to becoming a national icon. Alas, it was not to be. In a moment of recklessness, Suarez bit Italian defender, Chiellini in the last match of the group stage against Italy. It was the third time in his career that we saw Suarez bite an opponent. The Uruguayan has now received punishment for his actions and is currently serving a ban for the same. It was really very sad to see a player of Suarezai??i??s class and stature lose his cool and exit the World Cup in such an unceremonious fashion. In the absence of Suarez, Uruguay could not make it beyond the round of 16.
The fall of The Underdogs
Chileai??i??s defeat to Brazil, Mexicoai??i??s defeat due to a last-minute penalty awarded to Netherlands, USAai??i??s defeat at the hands of Belgium despite Tim Howardai??i??s heroics, Costa Ricaai??i??s exit from the competition only after forcing Netherlands into the penalty shoot-outs and other such close exits of the underdogs were painful to watch. As a neutral, it gives a fan immense joy to watch the underdog perform with grit and resist their opponents for as long as they can. When the not-so-favoured team comes so close to victory and yet fails to grab it, you canai??i??t help but feel sorry for them. The emotions expressed by the players after the exit are even more painful for the spectators. Though, the underdogs gained immense respect, to see them exit when they deserve to go farther leaves us with dejection.
Injuries
Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria and Neymar are all suffering a setback due to injuries. With Neymar and Di Maria already ruled out of the World Cup, their nations have to come up with a solution and fill the void left by the two sensational players. Both of them were consistently coming up with some excellent displays in the entire tournament and were an important figure in their respective squad. Sergio Agueroai??i??s availability is still a doubt and the Manchester City striker must be hoping to recover in time for the semi-final against Netherlands. The injuries have come at the worst possible time for Brazil and Argentina and have caused many a heartbreaks and left many fans grieving as the star players will no longer be a part of the competition.
The tears of James Rodriguez
If there is one player that surprised the world and made a way into the hearts of football followers, it is the Colombian James Rodriguez. With 6 goals in the World Cup, the Monaco player is the leading contender for the golden boot. His amazing run of form made waves across the world and the Colombian became a household name. In the absence of Falcao, the youngster took up the responsibility and lead Colombia to the quarter-finals. However, as destiny would have its way, the dream run ended in the quarter-finals itself for Colombia as they lost out to host nation, Brazil. James Rodriguez was left in tears as he couldn’t have given more but in the end it just wasn’t enough.
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